Software-based fabric enablement

ABSTRACT

A first fabric abstraction layer couples to a data link layer and a physical layer of a network fabric device. The network fabric device is connected to other network elements within a network via at least one network connection, such as a fiber optic connection. A second fabric abstraction layer couples to the data link layer and an application of the network device. The second fabric abstraction layer provides an application programming interface (API) to the application. The API allows the application to generate configuration instructions for configuring the at least one network connection. Upon receiving the configuration instructions generated by the application, the second abstraction layer sends the configuration instructions to the first abstraction layer via the data link layer. The first abstraction layer then configures the at least one network connection to transmit data according to the configuration instructions.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. provisionalapplication 61/927,321 filed Jan. 14, 2014. This and all other extrinsicreferences referenced herein are incorporated by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is management and provisioning of networkfabrics.

BACKGROUND

The background description includes information that may be useful inunderstanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any ofthe information provided herein is prior art or relevant to thepresently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically orimplicitly referenced is prior art.

Computer networks continue to grow in size and complexity to service theever growing communication demands of their users. Recent developmentsin network fabrics have allowed dramatic increases in data throughputand reduction of transmission latency over conventional networktopologies (or infrastructures). A network fabric is a type of networkinfrastructure that is formed by connecting at least two devices (e.g.,edge devices) via multiple network nodes (or switches). These networknodes are usually connected with one another via optical links (e.g.,optical fibers). In addition, the interconnected network nodes can formmore than one physical path between each pair of edge devices, allowingdata to be transmitted among the multiple physical paths in parallel togenerate better total data throughput (i.e., the amount of data beingtransmitted from one edge device to another edge device within a periodof time) and lower transmission latency (i.e., the amount of time fordata to be transmitted from one device to another). Therefore, networkfabrics have become the preferred network structure for organizationswith offices that are spread out geographically and that demand highdata transfer speed.

The greater throughput of network fabrics also allows them to provide anetwork for distributed computers. Example computing fabrics includeBeowulf clusters and parallel virtual machines (PVM) developed by theUniversity of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and EmoryUniversity. U.S. Pat. No. 6,779,016 to Aziz et al. titled “ExtensibleComputing System” also describes using a networking fabric to create avirtual server farm out of a collection of processors and storageelements.

While network fabrics generally have better data throughput and lowerlatency than conventional network structure, the data transmissionefficiency is far from being optimized. Specifically, it has been foundthat the channels within each physical network link are not optimallyutilized most of the time. In addition, as the number of networkelements increases, it is becoming more difficult to provide efficientdata transmission due to the lack of a world view within each networknode. Network fabrics supporting multiple logical data paths through thefabric from one host to another exacerbates communication latency issuesbecause of the numerous logical structures (e.g., routes or data paths),which may potentially be a part of the data flow path of the networkbus.

Efforts have been made to improve the utilization efficiency of networkfabrics. For example, InfiniBand® (http://www.infinibandta.org/home)provides high speed fabric connectivity among High Performance Computing(HPC) systems while having moderately low latency. Unfortunately,InfiniBand and other HPC networks are limited to communicating over adistance less than several hundred meters rendering them unsuitable fornetwork environments spanning across geographically significantdistances. Additionally, such networks at best can only connect computersystems or some peripherals, but not all network elements.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,122 to Muller et al. titled “I/O Protocol for HighlyConfigurable Multi-Node Processing System” discusses transferring datafrom computer nodes to I/O nodes through a fabric of switch nodes. Whileuseful for communicating among edge nodes, the configuration describedby Muller still does not address the desire for having an efficientport-to-port network communication.

E.P. 1,236,360 to Sultana et al. titled “Integrating Signaling SystemNumber 7 (SS7) Networks with Networks Using Multi-Protocol LabelSwitching (MPLS)” describes a label switching technique that providesfor an abstraction layer between network layer protocols and link layerprotocols. Although Sultana provides for reducing the amount of time andcomputational resources of forwarding data packets among fabric nodes,Sultana does not provide for application layer control over orflexibility in allocating data packets among network nodes.

U.S. patent publication 2003/0005039 to Craddock et al. titled “End NodePartition Using Local Identifiers” discloses a distributed computingsystem having components including edge nodes, switches, and routersthat form a fabric that interconnects the edge nodes. The disclosedfabric employs InfiniBand to form the fabric. However, Craddock alsodoes not address the need to provide application layer control over dataflow allocation among the elements of a network fabric.

Thus, there is still a need for further improving on the efficiency ofnetwork fabrics.

All publications identified herein are incorporated by reference to thesame extent as if each individual publication or patent application werespecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference isinconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein,the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definitionof that term in the reference does not apply.

In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients,properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth,used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are tobe understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.”Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth inthe written description and attached claims are approximations that canvary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by aparticular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parametersshould be construed in light of the number of reported significantdigits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstandingthat the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scopeof some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numericalvalues set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely aspracticable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of theinvention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from thestandard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth hereinshould be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints andopen-ended ranges should be interpreted to include only commerciallypractical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered asinclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates thecontrary.

As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow,the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the descriptionherein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve asa shorthand method of referring individually to each separate valuefalling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, eachindividual value is incorporated into the specification as if it wereindividually recited herein. All methods described herein can beperformed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein orotherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and allexamples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respectto certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminatethe invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of theinvention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should beconstrued as indicating any non-claimed element essential to thepractice of the invention.

Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each groupmember can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combinationwith other members of the group or other elements found herein. One ormore members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group forreasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion ordeletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the groupas modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markushgroups used in the appended claims.

SUMMARY

The disclosure provides for apparatus, systems, and methods ofconfiguring a networking fabric by a software application within anetwork device. In one aspect of the invention, a method of provisioninga network fabric is presented. The method comprises the step ofproviding a first fabric abstraction layer that couples to a data linklayer and a physical layer of a network fabric device. The networkfabric device is connected to other network elements within a networkvia at least one network connection, such as a fiber optic connection.The method also comprises the step of providing a second fabricabstraction layer that couples to the data link layer and an applicationof the network device. The second fabric abstraction layer then providesan application programming interface (API) to the application. The APIallows the application to generate configuration instructions forconfiguring the at least one network connection. Upon receiving theconfiguration instructions generated by the application, the secondabstraction layer sends the configuration instructions to the firstabstraction layer via the data link layer. The first abstraction layerthen configures the at least one network connection to transmit dataaccording to the configuration instructions.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventivesubject matter will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which likenumerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the following description, various aspects are described withreference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a network of elements distributed over a geographicalregion.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary network fabric that is provisioned frommultiple network elements according to a network fabric configuration.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary network nodes connected with each other viaa link.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary network node that comprises anintegrated device having hardware and software that implementsfunctionalities and features according to the physical layer (layer0/1), the aggregate layer (layers 2/3/4), and any upper layers (sessionlayer, presentation layer, and application layer) of the OSI models.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary software architecture.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary connection object that is created by anabstraction layer.

FIG. 7 is a two-dimensional graph that illustrates exemplary physicalchannels of a link.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example network fabric used as a high-speedtrading platform.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary use of different types of processingunits within each element in network fabric.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be noted that any language directed to a computer should beread to include any suitable combination of computing devices, includingservers, interfaces, systems, databases, agents, peers, engines,modules, controllers, or other types of computing devices operatingindividually or collectively. One should appreciate the computingdevices comprise a processor configured to execute software instructionsstored on a tangible, non-transitory computer readable storage medium(e.g., hard drive, solid state drive, RAM, flash, ROM, etc.). Thesoftware instructions configure the computing device to provide theroles, responsibilities, or other functionality as discussed below withrespect to the disclosed apparatus. In exemplary embodiments, thevarious servers, systems, databases, or interfaces exchange data usingstandardized protocols or algorithms, possibly based on HTTP, HTTPS,AES, public-private key exchanges, web service APIs, known financialtransaction protocols, or other electronic information exchangingmethods. Data exchanges preferably are conducted over a packet-switchednetwork, the Internet, LAN, WAN, VPN, or other type of packet switchednetwork.

The following discussion provides many example embodiments of theinventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a singlecombination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter isconsidered to include all possible combinations of the disclosedelements. Thus if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and asecond embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subjectmatter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A,B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.

As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term“coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which twoelements that are coupled to each other contact each other) and indirectcoupling (in which at least one additional element is located betweenthe two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with”are used synonymously.

FIG. 1 illustrates a network of elements 100 that can be geographicallydispersed over a region 105. As shown, the network 100 includes twocomputing elements 110A and 110B that are located in the far ends of theregion 105. The network 100 also includes twelve network nodes 120Athrough 120L (collectively, nodes 120). The computing elements 110A and110B are interconnected through a plurality of physical communicationlinks (130A through 130T, collectively referred to as nodes 130)connecting neighboring network nodes 120 that may be geographicallyseparated. In some embodiments, network nodes 120 can be separated overgeographically significant distances greater than five kilometers (km).Furthermore, network 100 allows computing elements 110A and 110B tocommunicate with each other via the network nodes 120 and links 130 evenwhen the computing elements are geographically separated by 5 km, 10 km,or greater distances. In some embodiments, the network 100 is part ofthe National LamdaRail (NLR) high-speed network infrastructure.

Computing elements 110A or 110B can include devices or functionalportions of a device. Contemplated devices include computers, servers,set-top boxes appliances, personal data assistant (PDA), cell phones, orother computing devices. Contemplated functional portions of a deviceinclude processors, memory, peripherals, displays, or other devicecomponents. In some embodiments, device components are adapted via oneor more network interfaces allowing the component to communication overfabric 100. Computing elements 110 can also include other forms ofnetworking infrastructure including routers, bridges, gateways, accesspoints, repeaters, or other networking devices offeringinterconnectivity.

In some aspects, each of the links 130 is a physical point-to-pointcommunication link, such as an optical fiber connection link, betweentwo connected neighboring elements. In an exemplary fabric, eachphysical link 130 can support multiple physical data channels. First,some latest devices that provide layer 0/1 (physical layer within theOSI model) (e.g., Ciena® 6500 series, Tellabs® 7100 series, etc.)services can support transmission of data via up to eighty-eight (88)different optical wavelengths using wavelength-division multiplexing(WDM) technologies, thereby creating 88 different channels for datatransmission. In addition, these layer 0/1 devices can also adopt atime-division multiplexing technology to create more channels bydividing the optical link into multiple time divisions. In theseembodiments, each time division will carry the 88 wavelength channels,such that if the layer 0/1 device divides the optical link into 10different time divisions, the layer 0/1 device can support up to 880different physical channels. In some embodiments, each of these physicalchannels has a bandwidth no less than one hundred gigabits/second (100Gb).

Each of the nodes 120A-120L may include networking infrastructureequipment, such as routers, gateway, switches, hubs, or other devicesthat provide data transport. Each node 120 may comprise several ingressand egress ports used to route data packets from one node to another.The ports of the node provide physical connections to adjacent nodes. Insome embodiments, ports are bi-directional allowing data traffic to flowinto and out of the same physical port. Nodes 120 are contemplated tocomprise memory to store data and software instructions in support ofexecuting a computational function. Contemplated memory includes RAM,Flash, magnetic storage (e.g., a disk drive), solid state drives, racetrack memory, or other forms of data storage.

As mentioned, nodes 120 are also contemplated to include a processingelement capable of executing more than one processing thread or task.Exemplary processing units comprise multi-core processors including theIntel® Quad Core processor product line. A multi-core processor allowsnode 120 to execute desired computational functions related to packetmanagement and routing duties. One should appreciate that any processorhaving sufficient computing power would be equally suitable fordeployment in nodes 120. Other contemplated processors include thosedeveloped by MIPS, AMD, Sparc, ARM, Freescale, Transmeta, Broadcom 568xxseries, Broadcom 566xx series, Broadcom 565xx series, or other vendorsor designers. In accordance with some aspects of the invention, each ofthe nodes 120A-120L has sufficient processing power and memory toperform other computational processes in addition to routing datapackets.

Although network 100 is illustrated across the region 105 (e.g., theUnited States), it should be noted that network 100 could also comprisea world spanning network, the Internet for example. Alternatively,network 100 can be embodiment by a local area network, any packetswitched network, an intranet, or even a small office or home network.

In some embodiments, a user or a computer process having access tonetwork 100 can configure and provision a network fabric using a networkfabric provisioning application by specifying a network fabricconfiguration to the network fabric provisioning application. Thenetwork fabric configuration can be an ad-hoc configuration, or aconfiguration that is based on a particular template that is a prioridefined for a specific usage (e.g., a security template for ensuringsecure transmission of data within the fabric, a database template forsaving and retrieving data within the fabric, a computational templatethat is configured to optimize computation efficiency, etc.). Thecomputer process can either have access to the network fabricprovisioning application or be part of the network fabric provisioningapplication. The network fabric provisioning application can reside onany one of the network devices (computing edges 110A and 110B or nodes120A-120L).

In some embodiments, a network fabric configuration specifies a subsetof the network elements in the network 100 and multiple paths throughthe subset of network elements to connect computing elements 110A and110B. Network fabrics can include fabrics for internetworking, storagearea networks, mesh networks, peer-to-peer networks or other networkfabrics. FIG. 2 illustrates an example network fabric 200 that isprovisioned from network elements of the network 100 according to anetwork fabric configuration.

Network fabric 200 is provisioned to have a specific configuration ofnodes and links within the network 100. In this example, network fabric200 is provisioned to include nodes 120A, 120C, 120D, 120E, 120H, 120I,120J, and 120K (indicated by thick solid lines around the nodes). Inaddition, network fabric 200 is provisioned to also include the links130B that connects nodes 120A and 120C, link 130D that connects nodes120A and 120D, link 130E that connects nodes 120C and 120I, link 130Ithat connects nodes 120D and 120I, link 130M that connects nodes 120Eand 120I, link 130K that connects nodes 120E and 120H, link 130L thatconnects nodes 120E and 120J, link 130R that connects nodes 120H and120J, and link 130P that connects nodes 120J and 120K (indicated bythick solid lines).

Because a network fabric requires cooperation from multiple networknodes to routes data packets between pairs of computing elements in aspecific manner, the network fabric application in some embodiments,could distribute information about the network fabric configuration tothe other network nodes within the fabric 230, such that each of thenetwork node in the fabric 230 has full knowledge of the fabric. In someembodiments, the information (including the network fabricconfiguration) is encapsulated within an image file before distributingthe image file across the network nodes within the fabric. Thisdistribution of fabric knowledge also allows any fabric to take over themanagement function when one or more of the node has gone down duringthe lifespan of the fabric 230.

As shown, the provisioned network fabric 200 provides multiple pathsbetween computing edges 110A and 110B. For example, network fabric 200provides a first path between computing edges 110A and 110B throughnodes 120A, 120D, 120I, 120E, and 120H. The network fabric 200 alsoprovides a second path between computing edges 110A and 110B throughnodes 120A, 120C, 120I, 120E, 120J and 120H.

Thus, data packets sent from computing edge 110A could travel along aroute defined by nodes 120 “ACIEJH”, or alternatively along a routedefined by nodes 120 “ADIKH” where the routes differ from each other byat least one of physical links 130. In an exemplary embodiment, theroutes are configured to transport data between computing edges 110A and110B with low latency or a high throughput.

Creating multiple routes within network fabric 200 provides numerousadvantages. One advantage includes providing fault tolerance incommunications between elements 110A and 110B. Should a route fail dueto a lost node or failed link, data packets can be rerouted throughother alternative paths. In a distributed core fabric, such rerouting ofdata packets occurs in a substantially transparent fashion with respectto the computing elements 110. An additional advantage of multipleroutes includes increased throughput across network fabric 200. Datafrom element 110A can be divided into data chunks by node 120A and sentthrough different routes selected from the multiple routes to element110B. Sending data chunks across multiple routes within network fabric200 increases the parallelism of the data transport effectivelyincreasing throughput from node 120A to node 120H. Additionally, sendingdata chunks across multiple routes increases security of the datatransmission by spreading the chunks across geographically distributedpaths in a manner where it becomes impractical for a threat to monitorall links to reconstruct the payload data. More information aboutnetwork fabric can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,548,545 toWittenschlaeger entitled “Disaggregated Network Management”, filed May13, 2008, U.S. Pat. No. 7,904,602 to Wittenschlaeger entitled“Distributed Computing Bus”, filed May 16, 2008, U.S. Pat. No. 7,548,556to Wittenschlaeger entitled “Secure Communication Through a NetworkFabric”, filed Jun. 25, 2008, and co-pending U.S. application Ser. No.13/024,240 entitled “Distributed Network Interfaces for ApplicationCloaking and Spoofing”, filed Feb. 9, 2011. These publications areherein incorporated by reference.

FIG. 3 illustrates examples of network nodes 320A and 320B that areconnected with each other via a link 330. Nodes 320A and 320B can be anynodes within the network 100. In some embodiments, each of the networknodes 320A and 320B includes at least two sub-devices. Conventionally,each of the nodes 320A and 320B is implemented by at least one rack ofequipments. The rack of equipments can include multiple stand-alone(independently operated) devices. Each of these devices implementsfunctionalities and features according to one or more network layers ofthe OSI model, possibly other network communication models or stacks. Insome embodiments, each of the devices is a self-contained device thatincludes software and hardware (e.g., processors, memory, etc.) thatimplements functionalities and features according to one or more networklayers of the OSI model. The devices do not share any resources witheach other and may communicate with each other only via their ports andexternal links. The self-contained devices in each node can be evenphysically separated from each other.

In this example, network node 320A has a rack of equipments thatcomprises devices 305A, 310A, and 315A, while network node 320Bcomprises devices 305B, 310B, and 315B. Devices 305A and 305B can beconfigured to perform networking functionalities according to thephysical layer (layers 0/1) of the OSI model, such as media, signal, andbits transmission functionalities. Examples of this kind of devicesinclude hubs, repeaters, network interface cards, etc. (e.g., Ciena®8500 series and Tellabs® 7100 series).

Devices 310A and 310B can be configured to perform networkingfunctionalities according to an aggregated layer that includes the datalink layer, network layer, and transport layer (layers 2/3/4) of the OSImodel. The networking functionalities performed by these devices includephysical addressing functionalities, path determination and logicaladdressing functionalities, and end-to-end connection and reliabilityfunctionalities. Examples of this type of devices include bridges,switches, routers, Ethernet cards, etc. (e.g., Summit® x450a series andApcon® IntellaPatch series 3000).

In addition to the devices that implement layers 0/1 and layers 2/3/4 ofthe OSI model, nodes 320A or 320B can also include other devices thatperforms higher level networking functionalities according to thesession layer, presentation layer, and/or application layer of the OSImodel. For example, FIG. 3 shows that nodes 320A and 320B also hasdevices 315A and 315B respectively that performs networkingfunctionalities according to the session layer, presentation layer, andapplication layers. The networking functionalities performed by thesedevices include ensuring that all necessary system resources areavailable, matching the application to the appropriate applicationprotocol, synchronizing the transmission of data from the application tothe application protocol. Examples of this type of devices include webservers, e-mail servers, voice-over-IP server, etc.

In some embodiments, each of the nodes 320A and 320B has sufficientresource (e.g., processing power, memory, etc.) such that these nodesare capable of performing other computation processes in addition toperforming the networking functionalities that have been describedabove. In these embodiments, nodes 320A and 320B can also act as bothnetwork nodes and computing elements. When most or all of the networknodes within the network fabric 200 have these capabilities, these nodescan work in concert to provide a distributed computing server, loadbalancing server, or other types of distributed computing units for thenetwork fabric 200.

As shown, adjacent nodes 320A and 320B connect to each other through oneor more physical communication links 330. Links 330 can be wired orwireless. Exemplary links include optic fiber links capable oftransporting data over geographically significant distances. Forexample, a single mode optic fiber can support transmission of data upto 40 Km at a wavelength of 1550 nanometers (nm) with a throughput of 10Gbps. An additional example of a fiber optic link includes those underdevelopment by the IEEE 802.3 Higher Speed Study Group. The contemplatedfibers support bandwidths from 40 Gbps to 100 Gbps over distances up to40 Km using a single mode optical fiber.

In one aspect of the invention, the network fabric application forprovisioning a network fabric within the network 100 can be providedwithin each of nodes 320A and 320B. In some embodiments, the networkfabric application is a software application that couples to theapplication layer within the OSI model. In exemplary embodiments, thenetwork fabric provisioning application is implemented within theapplication layer or above the application layer of the network deviceaccording to the OSI model. In some embodiments, the network fabricprovisioning application is part of the operating system of the networkdevice or part of an Ethernet driver of the network device.

It is contemplated that certain information about the network 100 mightbe necessary for the network fabric application to efficiently provisiona network fabric within the network 100. The information can include (i)status and capabilities of other network elements (including othernetwork nodes and computing elements) and (ii) status and trafficcondition on each of the links 130. In some embodiments, the networkfabric application that is executed in each of the nodes 120 can set upa management channel to communicate information of the node (e.g., thestatus and capabilities of its respective node) with each other.

Conventionally, only the physical layer has access to certaininformation about the physical links 130 (e.g., characteristics, status,load, physical channel information, etc.). Thus, in the conventionalnode architecture such as the ones shown in FIG. 3, only devices 305Aand 305B would have such information. As mentioned above, these devicesare independently operated and do not share resources or informationwith each other. Thus, if a network fabric application that couples tothe application layer is installed under this conventional architecture(such as implemented within device 315A and 315B), the network fabricapplication would not have information regarding the physical links tofacilitate efficient provision of network fabrics.

Therefore, a new node architecture different from the one shown in FIG.3 is contemplated that allows the network fabric application toefficiently provision network fabrics. In this new architecture, thefunctionalities and features for the physical layer (layers 0/1), theaggregated layer (layers 2/3/4), and the upper layers (session layer,presentation layer, and application layer) of the OSI model areimplemented within the same integrated device (equipment).

FIG. 4 illustrates an examples network node 405 that is built under thisnew architecture. As shown, node 405 has an integrated device 410 havinghardware and software that implements functionalities and featuresaccording to the physical layer (layer 0/1), the aggregate layer (layers2/3/4), and any upper layers (session layer, presentation layer, andapplication layer) of the OSI models. Because device 410 is anintegrated device, different software modules that implement thedifferent OSI layers within the device can communicate, share resources,and share information with each other. It is noted that the architecturedescribes for node 405 herein can be applied to any nodes 120A through120L in the network 100.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example software architecture that can beimplemented within device 410. Specifically, device 410 includesphysical layer module 510 that implements functionalities and featuresaccording to the physical layer (layers 0/1) of the OSI model,aggregation layer module 515 that implements functionalities andfeatures according to the aggregation layer (layers 2/3/4) of the OSImodel, and an upper layer module 525 that implements functionalities andfeatures according to the session layer, the presentation layer, and theapplication layer (layers 5/6/7) of the OSI model. Each of the physicallayer module 510, the aggregation layer module 515, and upper layermodule 525 can include one or more different sub-modules that work inconcert to perform the functionalities and features described herein.

In some embodiments, the network fabric application 535 is implementedwithin the upper layer module 525, as shown in the FIG. 5. The networkfabric application 535 can then communicate internally with the softwaremodules that implement the session layer, the presentation layer, and/orthe application layer through internal APIs. In other embodiments, thenetwork fabric application 535 can be implemented on top of the upperlayer module 525 (e.g., as an application that is running on top of theoperating system of the network node 405), and is communicativelycoupled to the software module that implements the application layerwithin the upper layer module 525.

It is contemplated that a first abstraction layer (abstraction layer520) can be added between the physical layer module 510 and aggregationlayer module 515 and a second abstraction layer (abstraction layer 540)can be added between the aggregation layer module 515 and the upperlayer module 525. Each of the abstraction layers 520 and 540 can beimplemented as one or more software modules. The abstraction layer 520is configured to facilitate the communication of information and/orinstructions between the physical layer module 510 and aggregation layermodule 515, while the abstraction layer 540 is configured to facilitatethe communication of information and/or instructions between the upperlayer module 525 and aggregation layer module 515. The abstractionlayers 520 and 540 work together to allow the network fabric applicationthat couples to the application layer to have access to information ofthe physical links 430 via the physical layer module 510.

In some embodiments, the abstraction layers 520 and 540 can providedifferent services for the network fabric application 535. For example,the abstraction layer 520 can retrieve information about the physicallinks 430 from the physical layer module 510 and pass the information tothe network fabric application 535 via the aggregation layer module 515and the abstraction layer 540. In some embodiments, the abstractionlayer 520 retrieves status (e.g., up or down) of at least some of thelinks within network 100, traffic condition of at least some of thelinks within network 100, and also allocation (and assignment)information of the channels for at least some of the links withinnetwork 100. In some embodiments, the abstraction layer 520 instantiatesa connection object (such as connection object 530), encapsulates thelinks information (e.g., status, traffic condition, and allocationinformation, etc.) within the connection object 530, and then passes theconnection object 530 to the aggregation layer module 515 and theabstraction layer 540.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example connection object 530 that is created bythe abstraction layer. Connection object 530 includes differentattributes that represent status information, traffic conditioninformation, and physical channels allocation information of at leastsome of the physical links 130 within the network 100. As shown, theconnection object 530 includes a link status for link 103A (e.g.,indicating that the traffic is low), a link status for link 103B (e.g.,indicating that the link is currently down), a link status for link 103C(e.g., indicating that the traffic is high), a link status for link 103D(e.g., indicating that the traffic is low), and so forth. The connectionobject 530 also includes channel allocation of the physical links withinthe network 100. In addition to these attributes, the connection object530 can also include other attributes regarding the physical linkswithin the network 100, such as latency information, securityinformation (e.g., whether an attack has been detected, etc.).

As mentioned above, each of the physical links within the network 100can include multiple physical channels, through divisions of thephysical link by different wavelengths and different time slots. FIG. 7illustrates example physical channels of a link by way of a graph 700having two dimensions: a wavelength dimension along the y-axis and atime dimension along the x-axis. Each block (such as block 705, 725, andothers) represent a different physical channel (specified by aparticular wavelength and a particular timeslot) within the link.

Since each block within the graphical representation 700 represents asingle channel, each block can include information such as allocationinformation and information of the owner of the channel. FIG. 7illustrates one way of indicating allocation information within thegraphical representation 700. As shown, the block 705 (representing thechannel that occupies wavelength λ6 and time slot t1) has beenallocated, as indicated by the grayed out of the block 705. Similarly,blocks 710 (representing the channel that occupies wavelength λ5 andtime slot t4), blocks 715 (representing the channel that occupieswavelength λ2 and time slot t2), and blocks 720 (representing thechannel that occupies wavelength λ3 and time slot t5) are also indicatedas allocated. By contrast, block 725 (representing the channel thatoccupies wavelength λ5 and time slot t2), block 730 (representing thechannel that occupies wavelength λ4 and time slot t3), and block 735(representing the channel that occupies wavelength λ6 and time slot t5)have not been allocated as these blocks are not grayed out.

In some embodiments, the connection object 530 can include data thatrepresents similar information as represented by the graphicalrepresentation 700 for each link within network 100. The data can alsoinclude owner's information for each allocated channel (e.g., thecomputing process to which the channel has been allocated).

As mentioned above, the abstraction layer 520 passes the connectionobject 530 to the aggregation layer module 515 and the abstraction layer540. With the connection object 530, the abstraction layer 540 canaccess information about the physical links of the network 100. In someembodiments, the abstraction layer 540 can provide information of thephysical links of the network 100 to the network fabric application 535through a set of APIs. In some embodiments, the network fabricapplication 535 can present this information to a user via a userinterface and a display or present the information to another processthat has access to the network node 405.

In some embodiments, the set of APIs provided by the abstraction layer540 also allows the network fabric application 535 to provideinstructions to configure at least one connection link within thenetwork 100. An advantage of this approach is that the connection objectallows the network fabric application to use the information about thephysical links to provision the network fabric. For example, the networkfabric application 535 can avoid including links that are down or thathave high traffic within the network fabric. The network fabricapplication 535 can also provide this link and node information to theusers and/or processes (by providing an interface to theusers/processes) so that the users and/or processes can use thisinformation to create a network fabric configuration.

Thus, the network fabric application 535 can use the information aboutthe network (e.g., the status, traffic condition, latency information,channel allocation of each link within the network 100) to efficientlyconfigure (or allow the user or the other process to configure) at leastone network connection link within the network. The network fabricapplication 535 can provide the instructions to configure the network100 to the abstraction layer 540 through API calls. In some embodiments,the set of APIs allows the network fabric application 535 to add anaddition link to, and remove a link from, the network fabric 230. Insome embodiments, the set of APIs also allows the network fabricapplication 535 to allocate (or de-allocate) one or more channels withina link to a particular computing process. Since the network fabricapplication 535 has access to channel allocation and assignmentinformation of the links within the network 100, this allows the networkfabric application 535 to be more efficiently making use of thebandwidth of the links within the network fabric 230. For example, thenetwork fabric application 535 can allocate more physical channels to acomputing process that requires larger bandwidth and in a higherpriority and allocate less physical channels to another computingprocess that requires less bandwidth and in a lower priority.

As mentioned above, a network fabric configuration specifies multiplenetwork paths between each pair of computing elements. Thus, with thefeatures (information and APIs) provided by the abstraction layer 540,the network fabric application 535 can associate (allocate) each networkpath in the network fabric with a physical channel. In some embodiments,the network fabric application 535 can associate (allocate) more thanone physical channel in aggregate with a network path to increase theoverall bandwidth of the network path.

Knowing the exact number of available physical channels in the linksalso allows the network fabric application 535 to dynamically allocatephysical channels to different processes and different paths (e.g.,optical burst switching). For example, the network fabric application535 can also allow a user to configure a network fabric in a way thatallocates additional physical channels to a process only during a periodof time when extra bandwidth is needed. Thus, the network fabricapplication 535 can configure the network fabric such that only 3physical channels are allocated to the process most of the time but asmany as 10 physical channels would be allocated to the same processduring a pre-determined period of peak hours.

In some embodiments, the network fabric application 535 can also modifythe network fabric 230 once it is provisioned. There are many reasons todo so. For example, the status and traffic condition of the links 130within the network fabric 230 can change from time to time, someprocesses have different demands for bandwidth over time, and additionor removal of computing elements, to name just a few. Modification tothe network fabric can include addition and/or removal of network nodes,addition and/or removal of network links, changing the paths of themultiple paths between a pair of computing elements, etc. Thus, thenetwork fabric application 535 can automatically, or upon instructionsfrom the user and/or processes (users/processes provide an updatednetwork fabric configuration to the network fabric application), modifythe network fabric by changing the network fabric configuration, andprovisioning the modified network fabric via the connection object.

Once provisioned, a network fabric can provide high-speed transmissionof data among nodes and elements within the fabric. As mentioned above,an image file that encapsulates information about the network fabricconfiguration is distributed to all elements within the network fabric230. Thus, each element within the fabric is self-aware (e.g., knowingthe condition of the entire fabric and its own position within thefabric), allowing efficient routing and management of the fabric 230. Insome embodiments, the entire fabric 230 (that includes theinterconnected computing elements and network nodes) can be viewed as asingle giant computing machine (e.g., a load-distributed computer, etc.)from the perspective of someone from outside of the fabric. In some ofthese embodiments, the entire fabric 230 can have one single InternetProtocol address (IP address) for communicating with computers/networksoutside of the fabric.

These and other characteristics of network fabrics give rise to noveland useful applications. One contemplated application is to have ahigh-speed trading platform that is built based on a network fabric. Oneof the requirements for any high-speed trading platform is to minimizethe output latency (latency in executing a transaction based on knownrelevant information). This latency comes from two areas: (1) the timeit takes for the relevant information to travel from its source to theprocessing unit (e.g., a server, etc.) whose responsibility is to takethe relevant information and make a decision on the trade and (2) thetime it takes for the processing unit to make a decision on the tradeonce information is received.

The security trading algorithms used by investment organizations (e.g.,hedge fund companies, investment banks, sophisticated investors, etc.)are often very complicated that require thousands or millions ofcomputer operations. Thus, the second issue can be resolved by investingin very powerful servers that can perform the operations in the shortestamount of time. For the first issue, many investment organizations havetried to optimize their performance by putting the servers that executethe security trading algorithms as near as the information source aspossible (e.g., in a room right next to the New York Stock Exchange,etc.). However, this solution only works when the security tradingalgorithms only rely on information coming from the New York StockExchange and nowhere else. For example, if the algorithm requiresinformation from New York Stock Exchange and also information from theJapanese Stock Exchange, even if the server can acquire information fromthe New York Stock Exchange almost immediately after the information isreleased, the server still has to wait for information from the JapaneseStock Exchange before it can execute the algorithm.

In one aspect of the invention, using the network fabric to build asecurity trading platform can resolve the issue illustrated above. FIG.8 illustrates an example network fabric 800 that is being used as ahigh-speed trading platform. The network fabric 800 includes eightelements that are dispersed across the United States. The elements offabric 800 include element 805 that is located in Washington D.C.,element 810 located in New York City, element 815 located in Miami,element 820 located in Chicago, element 825 located in Austin, element830 located in Denver, element 835 located in Seattle, and element 840located in Los Angeles. These elements are connected with each otherthrough links 850A through 850K.

Each of these elements (elements 805-840) can have the same/similarstructure as network node 405 of FIG. 4. In addition, each of theseelements (elements 805-840) has sufficient computing resources (e.g.,processing power, memory, etc.) to perform computational intenseprocessing (e.g., security trading algorithms, etc.) in addition tobasic routing functions for network fabric 800. In an exemplary aspect,a subset of the processing resources is dedicated to routingfunctionalities and a different subset of the processing resources isdedicated to other computational intense processing. For example, anelement can include an eight-core processor, from which the element canallocate two of the cores to perform basic routing functionalities forthe fabric 800 and allocate the other six cores to perform thecomputational intense processing.

With a high-speed trading platform that is built based on such a networkfabric, one has the option to have the security trading algorithms to beperformed anywhere (e.g., at any one of the elements 805-840), or to bedistributed among two or more of the elements 805-840. It is alsocontemplated that different elements can be most optimal (e.g., in termsof speed) to perform the security trading algorithms in differentinstances. In other words, one of the elements can be the fastest (amongall elements in the fabric 800) to come up with a trading decision(using the security trading algorithm) in each trading instance. Thereare many factors that can affect the determination of which element isthe optimal (or fastest) in making a trading decision using the securitytrading algorithm. For example, the security trading algorithm oftentimes requires data provided by different places (e.g., U.S. governmentdata from different governmental departments, data from foreigncompanies/government, company news, etc.), and the time for the data toreach these different elements (805-840) within the fabric 800 can bedifferent. Even though with the high-speed network fabric, the timedifference for the elements to receive the data can be very tiny, in thecase of security trading, any difference in time however small can besubstantial.

In a simple example in which a trading decision cannot be made untildata coming from Europe is released, the most optimal element to makethe trading decision (perform the security trading algorithm) wouldprobably be either element 805 that is located in Washington D.C. orelement 810 located in New York, since they are closest to Europe andwill have the least foreseeable latency in receiving the data fromEurope. On the other hand, if the trading decision requires data comingfrom Japan, the most optimal element to make the trading decision(perform the security trading algorithm) would probably be eitherelement 835 that is located in Seattle or element 840 located in LosAngeles, since they are closest to Japan and will have the leastforeseeable latency in receiving the data from Japan.

In a more complicated example, the security trading platform has to waitfor data coming from more than one place (e.g., must wait for datacoming from both Europe and Japan) in order to make a trading decisionusing the security trading algorithm, and the origins are sending thedifferent data out almost at the same time. In this case, the mostoptical element to make the trading decision (perform the securitytrading algorithm) would be one that would receive the data from thedifferent sources at the same (or substantially the same) time (probablyelement 830 located in Denver or Element 825 located in Austin, sincethe distances between these locations and Europe and between theselocations and Japan are about the same). In addition to distances,conditions of the physical links 850A-850K (e.g., latency, traffic,status, etc.) can also affect the time it takes for the data to arriveat each element.

The estimation of time for the data to reach each of the elements805-840 (taking into account distances and link condition) can beperformed by any of the elements (or distributed among the elements).The computation can be performed shortly or immediately prior to thetime that the required data is foreseeably transmitting from thesources.

In addition to distances and condition of the physical links, it iscontemplated that the precision and accuracy of time-stamping atransaction can be a factor in determining which element to make thetrade decision. The equipment that can precisely and accuratelytime-stamp a transaction can be complicated and costly. As such, thetime-stamping equipments in the elements might not be identical-somemight be more precise and accurate than others. Thus, the precision andaccuracy to time-stamp a transaction of each element should also betaken into account in determining which element to perform the tradingdecision.

Although the security trading platform in this example uses fabric 800that includes equipment that spans over the United States, other fabricthat spans in a larger geographical area (e.g., a continent, the entireworld) can be used. As illustrated above, one advantage of using such anetwork fabric for a security trading platform is to be able todynamically determine the optical equipment (and location) to performeach trading decision.

Each of the elements (e.g., computing elements, network nodes, etc.)within the network 100 can include multiple processing units (e.g.,multiple processors or multiple processing cores, etc.) for performingthe routing functions for the fabric 230. The multiple processing unitswithin each element do not have to be identical. In fact, a networkelement can include different processing units that are optimized toperform different networking functions. For example, a network elementcan include a set of processing units (e.g., Broadcom 565xx series) thatare optimized to reduce data transmission latency (e.g., by hardwiringthe routing algorithm, perform low layer (layer 2) protocol datatransmissions, etc.) and another set of processing units (e.g., Broadcom566xx series) that are optimized to perform certain networking features(e.g., perform high layer (layer 7 to 2) protocols data transmission,etc.) such as voice-over-IP, HTTP, FTP, database operations, portscanning, transferring files, and security capabilities. These differentprocessing units can be connected to (and controlled by) a generalprocessing core (e.g., Broadcom 568xx series) via an internal bus. Thisway, a network element can connect a subset of its ports with theprocessing units that are optimized to reduce data transmission latencyand connect another subset of its ports with the processing units thatare optimized to perform rich networking features, and use the differentports for different types of data transmissions.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of making use of the different types ofprocessing units within each element within network fabric 900. Networkfabric 900 includes four elements: edge device 905, node 915, node 920,and edge device 910. The two edge devices 905 and 910 are connected toeach other via network nodes 915 and 920. In addition, the two edgedevices 905 and 910 are also connected to external devices that woulduse the fabric 900 to communicate (e.g., file transfer, web service,etc) with each other.

Each of the elements 905-920 have multiple processing units that arespecialized in different types of networking functions. For example,each of edge elements 905-920 include a set of processing unit that areoptimized to reduce data transmission latency and another set of portsthat are optimized to perform certain networking features (e.g., FTPfile transfer, HTTP web services, etc.). Thus, the edge devices 905 and910 can be configured to use the ports that are connected to theprocessing units optimized to perform rich networking features toconnect with external devices, and to use the ports that are connectedto the processing units optimized to reduce transmission latency toconnect with the network nodes within the fabric 900. The network nodes915 and 920 can use the ports that are connected to the processing unitsoptimized to reduce transmission latency to connect with each other andthe edge devices. As a result, the fabric 900 includes a latencyoptimized back haul for fast data transmission within the fabric, andalso edge devices that are optimized to process feature rich networkingrequests made by external devices.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of theappended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification andthe claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possiblemanner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises”and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements,components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that thereferenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized,or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are notexpressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at leastone of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . andN, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from thegroup, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

1-31. (canceled)
 32. A method of configuring a networking fabriccomprising network elements, comprising: providing a first fabricabstraction layer coupled with a data link layer and a physical layer ofa network fabric device that is connected to the network elements via atleast one network connection, the first fabric abstraction layerconfigured to receive information about physical links from the physicallayer of the network device; providing a second fabric abstraction layercoupled with the data link layer and an application of the networkdevice, the first fabric abstraction layer communicating the informationabout the physical links to the application; providing, by the secondfabric abstraction layer, an application programming interface (API)that allows the application to generate configuration instructions forconfiguring the at least one network connection based on the informationabout the physical links; receiving, by the second abstraction layer,the configuration instructions generated by the application; sending, bythe second abstraction layer, the configuration instructions to thefirst abstraction layer via the data link layer; and configuring, by thefirst abstraction layer, the at least one network connection to transmitdata according to the configuration instructions.
 33. The method ofclaim 32, wherein the network connection comprises multiple physicalchannels.
 34. The method of claim 33, wherein the multiple physicalchannels comprises a wavelength dimension and a time dimension.
 35. Themethod of claim 34, wherein the multiple physical channels comprises atleast 88 physical channels at each time slice, wherein each of the atleast 88 channels has a distinct optical wavelength.
 36. The method ofclaim 33, wherein each of the at least 88 physical channel has abandwidth of at least 100 Gb.
 37. The method of claim 33, furthercomprising dividing the network connection into the multiple physicalchannels using wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and time divisionmultiple access (TDMA).
 38. The method of claim 33, further comprising:retrieving, by the first fabric abstraction layer, channel statusinformation of the network connection; and providing the applicationwith access to the channel status information via the API.
 39. Themethod of claim 38, wherein the channel status information comprisesavailabilities of the multiple physical channels.
 40. The method ofclaim 38, wherein the configuration instructions for configuring thenetwork connection are based on the channel status information.
 41. Themethod of claim 40, wherein generating the configuration instructionscomprise assigning an available physical channel to a process managed bythe application.
 42. The method of claim 40, wherein generating theconfiguration instructions comprises assigning an aggregation of morethan one available physical channel to a process managed by theapplication.
 43. The method of claim 32, further comprising: receiving,by the second fabric abstraction layer, a modification to theconfiguration instructions generated by the application; andconfiguring, by the first fabric abstraction layer, the networkconnection to transmit data according to the modified configurationinstructions.
 44. The method of claim 43, wherein the modifiedconfiguration instructions comprises a re-assignment of a physicalchannel that was assigned to a first process to a second differentprocess managed by the application.
 45. The method of claim 32, whereinthe application comprises at least one of an operating system and anEthernet driver.
 46. The method of claim 32, wherein the configurationinstructions are defined based on at least one of the following: asecurity template, a database template, and a computational template.